stab

[ stab ]

/ stæb /

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verb (used with object), stabbed, stab·bing.

to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon: She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.

to thrust, plunge, or jab (a knife, pointed weapon, or the like) into something: He stabbed the knife into the man's chest.

to penetrate sharply or painfully: Their misery stabbed his conscience.

to make a piercing, thrusting, or pointing motion at or in: He stabbed me in the chest with his finger.The speaker stabbed the air in anger.

verb (used without object), stabbed, stab·bing.

to thrust with or as if with a knife or other pointed weapon: to stab at an attacker.

to deliver a wound, as with a pointed weapon.

noun

the act of stabbing.

a thrust or blow with, or as if with, a pointed weapon.

an attempt; try; Make a stab at an answer before giving up.

a wound made by stabbing.

a sudden, brief, and usually painful, sensation: He felt a stab of pain in his foot.A stab of pity ran through her.

OTHER WORDS FOR stab

1 spear, penetrate, pin, transfix.

See synonyms for stab on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about stab

a stab in the back, an act of treachery.

stab (someone) in the back, to do harm to (someone), especially to a friend or to a person who is unsuspecting or in a defenseless position.

Origin of stab

First recorded in 1435–45 for the noun, and in 1525–35 for the verb; Middle English (Scots ) noun stab, stabbe, stappe, of uncertain origin; compare Scots stob “needle, large needle”; verb from the noun

OTHER WORDS FROM stab

re·stab, verb, re·stabbed, re·stab·bing.un·stabbed, adjective

Words nearby stab

S star, Ssu-ma Ch'ien, SSW, st, sta., stab, Stabat Mater, stabbing, stabile, stabilimeter, stability

Other definitions for stab (2 of 2)

stab.

abbreviation

stabilization.

stabilizer.

stable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stab in a sentence

Chromecast with Google TVWith the new $50 Chromecast, Google has taken a fresh stab at organizing the hot mess of watching TV.
It’s okay if you weren’t paying attention to gadgets in 2020. Here are the best ones you missed.|Geoffrey Fowler|November 30, 2020|Washington Post
Gloria said he is “rooting for Measure C” but will advocate taking another stab at funding a Convention Center expansion if the initiative dies – and perhaps add a pitch to use city hotel taxes to support parks.
Measure C Backers Likely Headed to Court to Argue it Actually Passed|Lisa Halverstadt|October 26, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Even earlier stabs might have been made in private, but “when you get an answer you can’t make sense of, you don’t publish it,” noted Aephraim Steinberg, a physicist at the University of Toronto.
Quantum Tunnels Show How Particles Can Break the Speed of Light|Natalie Wolchover|October 20, 2020|Quanta Magazine
“Let me take a stab at rewriting this,” Besser recalled Emanuel saying as he began scribbling on a pad.
Inside the Fall of the CDC|by James Bandler, Patricia Callahan, Sebastian Rotella and Kirsten Berg|October 15, 2020|ProPublica

Her sister, Diana Jiménez López, on Tuesday told the Washington Blade during a telephone interview from California that Huerta had stab wounds throughout her body.
Tijuana authorities criticized over handling of transgender woman’s murder|Michael K. Lavers|September 17, 2020|Washington Blade
Then stab her to death and bring me back her lungs and liver as proof of your deed.
In New Brothers Grimm 'Snow White', The Prince Doesn't Save Her|The Brothers Grimm|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She ran, but he caught her, and began to stab her in the middle of the street.
The Myth of the Central Park Five|Edward Conlon|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He takes another stab at articulating what the word might mean.
Stuart Murdoch's 'God Help the Girl' Does Something Pretty (and Something Twee)|Melissa Leon|September 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This prompts Sarah Lynn to stab herself with a Confederate bayonet letter-opener, causing a geyser of blood.
'BoJack Horseman': The Debauched Tales of a Drunken, Groupie-Sexing D-List Horse, Hits Netflix|Marlow Stern|August 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Williams comes up dry on Pete Wilson, though he makes a stab at doing Pete Rose.
The Stacks: Robin Williams, More Than A Shtick Figure|Joe Morgenstern|August 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Esperanza was still smothered, and a stab of pity went through Joe's heart as he saw his shipmate wallowing.
The Chequers|James Runciman
Her cries attracted her attendants, and Murray was ordered by the indignant queen to stab the young madman dead then and there.
Friend Mac Donald|Max O'Rell
And because Bud had a sore spot in his own heart, Bud felt a quick stab of understanding and sympathy.
Cabin Fever|B. M. Bower
Seven or eight days ago, a man having received behind the Arsenal a stab with a knife, I sewed up the wound, and cured him.
Chicot the Jester|Alexandre Dumas, Pere
There were so many things to remind him of her—a sudden memory would catch him unawares, and stab him like a knife.
Love's Pilgrimage|Upton Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for stab

stab

/ (stæb) /

verb stabs, stabbing or stabbed

(tr) to pierce or injure with a sharp pointed instrument

(tr) (of a sharp pointed instrument) to pierce or woundthe knife stabbed her hand

(when intr , often foll by at) to make a thrust (at); jabhe stabbed at the doorway

(tr) to inflict with a sharp pain

stab in the back

(verb) to do damage to the reputation of (a person, esp a friend) in a surreptitious way
(noun) a treacherous action or remark that causes the downfall of or injury to a person

noun

the act or an instance of stabbing

an injury or rift made by stabbing

a sudden sensation, esp an unpleasant onea stab of pity

informal an attempt (esp in the phrase make a stab at)

Derived forms of stab

stabber, noun

Word Origin for stab

C14: from stabbe stab wound; probably related to Middle English stob stick

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with stab

stab

In addition to the idiom beginning with stab

stab in the back, a

also see:

make a stab at

stab

OTHER WORDS FOR stab

Idioms about stab

Origin of stab

OTHER WORDS FROM stab

Words nearby stab

Other definitions for stab (2 of 2)

Words related to stab

How to use stab in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stab

Derived forms of stab

Word Origin for stab

Other Idioms and Phrases with stab